


Ladybug Luck

by rabbitcatalope



Series: Rabbit's NDRV3 Fluff Stuff [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Bugs & Insects, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 01:32:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14706588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabbitcatalope/pseuds/rabbitcatalope
Summary: There are mandatory talent shows in Hope's Peak Highschool, but there are also smaller, optional talent shows for those who want to practice for the regulated ones.Yumeno Himiko decides to enroll in the latter. Gonta doesn't, but he's always willing to help!Each of them learns new things about the other when Himiko requests some help.





	Ladybug Luck

“A-and Yumeno-san is absolutely that they will not get harmed?”

Himiko blinked once, slowly, then replied, “Nyeh… no, your bugs will be safe during my performance.”

Letting out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding, Gonta turned away from the various insect terrariums to beam at Himiko. “Okay, then Gonta will gladly help Yumeno-san with anything else she needs assistance with!”

“You really don’t need to…” Though her expression stayed the same, Himiko felt a sweat coming on. Using someone as gentle and kind as Gonta seemed like a pain. “M-my magic’s enough, anyway.”

 _Plus, Tenko will be here later,_ she mentally added.

Gonta scratched his head sheepishly, his wildly unkempt hair swaying with the motion, “Oh right, Yumeno-san has powerful magic. Sorry, Gonta forgot that.”

“Nyeh…” Himiko picked at her ear, “don’t apologize so much. You’re too cool for that…”

“S-sorry!”

...Ignoring that, the mage decided to change the subject. “I think you said before that you’re not done with the anatomy assignment?”

The entomologist’s eyes widened. “Ah! That's right!” 

His body jerked into action, prepared to start sprinting toward the gym exit.

“Thank you, Yumeno-san! Good luck for your talent show piece tonight!”

A soft giggle left Himiko’s lips as she turned around to examine the terrarium that she knew contained only ladybugs. 

She had specified for Gonta to bring over insects that _wouldn’t_ creep her audience out. Though, of course, she made sure not to say it so bluntly. The gentle giant’s enthusiasm is infinitely more preferred than his self-depreciation.

On that note, why was he self-deprecating? In she'd been in his non-existent shoes, she'd be proud. Not anxious.

Frowning thoughtfully, she ran a hand across the tarp that obscured the ladybugs from sight. Then her fingers grasped onto it and tugged it off the tank with a graceful flourish.

A squeak of surprise escaped her.

"Yu-Yumeno-san?!"

Brimming with worry, Gonta ran back over to her. He stopped a couple feet away and extended a hand to help her get up from where she had fallen onto her behind.

But Himiko's eyes were fixated at the creatures inside. "They're so... so..."

"...majestic," Gonta finished for her, gazing at the terrarium like a loving father. If a loving father's child were five humongous ladybugs.

She took his hand and pulled herself back to her feet. Once done, he backed up to give her space.

"I-I-I..." Another sweat broke out on Himiko's face. Her nervous gulp was nearly audible as she still stared at the insects. "Gonta-kun... I thought... they'd be normal sized..."

Being ten times larger than the average, she could clearly make out the nauseating insect parts that were usually too small to view. One of the five even seemed to be bigger than her forearm. 

She wrenched her eyes closed as the black elongated cord-like things protruding from under its head began twitching and shuddering. Great, now it was laughing at her. It wasn't her fault her forearm was smaller!

"Oh! No, Gonta wanted to bring special ladybugs for your performance. These are ladybugs from Gonta's forest home." Made sense to her - she doubted these bugs could be found in anyplace else other than where a giant grew up.

"Nyeh..." She couldn't hold back the pout that made its way onto her face. Dejection weighed too heavily in her chest. "...the magic for my show could only be casted onto normal ladybugs... the spells I've prepared aren't fit for these ones."

 _"Sor—!"_ The strange sound was what finally drew her stare away. Gonta had a hand across his mouth for a reason that eluded her. Then, to Himiko's quiet shock, his expression turned serious. Maybe even pensive, had she not known him.

"These ladybugs are like birds," came a sudden admission. "They would flock to Gonta's hands and arms."

Himiko nodded through her confusion. Why was he talking about this? At least now she knew the other was like the jungle-variety of a Disney princess. Just as she'd suspected.

"When Gonta was small, he would dab honey onto his arms and find these bugs. Then, they would latch onto Gonta's arms and shoulders, and carry him into the sky!" An image of a Gonta the same size of her spreading his arms out and being lifted into the air by giant ladybugs came to mind.

A bright smile spread across his face as he concluded, "It's not magic, but maybe Yumeno-san could entertain the audience by flying like Gonta did!"

Turns out Himiko really hadn't known him. "That's... actually a good idea. It _is_ magic, just the natural kind, so... it will work out. Plus, I can think of a few parts from my original script-um, spell casting, that I can fit into this new one." Even months after being lumped into a class together, she was still learning who some classmates were it seemed.

The acceptance only ups the watts on Gonta's grin. "Great! You want an introduction on the ladies?"

Just like that, a few minutes passed by with them on opposite sides of the terrarium, and her listening to Gonta pointing out the names of the five bugs and retelling stories of how he had found the 'perfect' name for each of them. A sound akin to a giggle escaped him when she commented that the name Sunao didn't fit since it had made fun of her earlier.

Against all reason, the ladybugs seemed less frightening on a closer look. Gonta's voice did wonders on her fear. Without it, she didn't doubt she would have fainted.

"It might also be because of your powerful magic," Gonta pointed out when she expressed this realization. 

Himiko paused. Powerful magic? Her hand went up to tug her hat down but she stopped as she remembered Gonta.

"What's wrong?"

"It-it's nothing. It's a pain to tell..." She bit her lip, then heaved a sigh. "No, I should tell you, Gonta-kun."

Gonta remained silent, though Himiko could feel the waves of worry coming from his aura. 

After a deep inhale, she finally let out: "My master was a great mage with power that far exceeded mine... but people focused on me. They regaled me with gifts and letters, lying that he was beneath me. Th-then, one day, he started believing them... that was what weakened him enough to succumb to the anti-mage."

_'You know she'll be the one to achieve greatness. She'll be popular all across the world, gaining fame more so than either of us combined. Isn't it hilarious that you helped the one person that would bring you to your downfall?'_

"What is this 'anti-mage'?"

"Nnngh," Himiko growled at the memory that flashed by, "it's my master's nemesis. His magic was siphoned by what the anti-mage said that night. I made sure to defeat the anti-mage, but it was too late. That night was the last I ever saw of my master..." 

And it was all her fault.

"Gonta is so, so sorry to hear that," Gonta whispered. The raw sorrow in his small voice snapped Himiko out of her temporary self-deprecation. "To have his magic taken out must have hurt your master so much that he went away. Your master... he must be out there somewhere, proud that you are able to keep casting magic when he couldn't."

Her breathing stuttered and she turned her face away from Gonta's view. 

"Yeah. That's a possibility."

Gonta seemed to understand the fragility of the atmosphere because he didn't speak up once while she was looking away.

After some rapid blinking, she deemed her eyes dry enough to look back at him and smile. "Thanks. C-can you tell me more about Sunao?"

He said nothing for a few seconds. Then, "It might have been in the middle of May back then, though Gonta is only relying on what May feels like as a comparison because he didn't have a calendar back then. On one of those May-feeling days, there was a ladybug on the stump he usually rested on after running around the forest..."

When he finished, Himiko requested that he tell the story of how he had also met the other five ladybugs. Her mood was back up before he had reached the end of his second story.

"You sure they won't bite me? Perhaps they only helped you fly on account of your royal Disney heritage."

"Gonta... doesn't know what you mean, but these ladybugs don't hurt anyone. Not even aphids!"

"Nyeh, now Himi—I mean, I don't know what you mean..." She let out a small chuckle. "To counter my nonsense-spell with another, you truly are cool."

"...twice now."

Himiko glanced over to him with a raised brow. It wasn't like Gonta to mutter under his breath. "Hm?" 

“Um…” Gonta fidgeted with his hands before looking up from the floor and to the mage’s face. Though it still counted as looking down because of their gigantic height difference, she couldn’t help but feel like the other had shrunken somehow. Magic, perhaps.

"That's twice you've called Gonta 'cool'," he explained.

With rising confusion, Himiko blurted, "Because you are?"

He held her stare for a moment before taking a deep breath. Then, with earnestly bewildered eyes behind red-rimmed spectacles, he asked, “Why do you think Gonta is cool?”

In a list of things she would have expected, that would’ve been at the very bottom of the scroll. Did he really not know? Himiko pursed her lips, poring over her answer. 

Finally, after a few seconds, she spoke.

“‘cause, you’re so kind to everyone.” She sent a small grin towards Gonta’s direction, “...even with Ouma-kun. Though he's a jerk, I think he appreciates it deep in his small corrupted heart. You'd do anything to help. You just want everyone to smile.”

For a moment, Gonta was uncharacteristically quiet. 

His lips were parted slightly but no words came out. He only stared at Himiko, his dark auburn eyes blown wide with an emotion she couldn't place. 

Then, the most joyous smile she's ever seen spreaded across his face.

“Yumeno-san!”

Gonta stepped over to the opposite side, an air of eagerness to his motion. Curious, Himiko stayed where she was. 

However, Gonta’s smile suddenly faltered and he took a step back.

With a soft voice, he meekly ventured, “Can Gonta… hug you?” 

Himiko hummed in thought, weighing the pros and cons.

“Sure. Just don’t crush me.” 

He nodded solemnly, “Gonta will do his best.” Then he strode over to Himiko in one huge step, kneeled down, and gingerly wrapped his arms around her. 

"Thank you very much, for understanding," he whispered.

Himiko didn’t really adore the earthy scent coming off his suit in waves, but the overflowing warmth made up for it. Her heavy eyelids drooped closed as she hugged back.

Then after a few seconds she opened her eyes with slight shock. Surprisingly, it was Gonta who pulled away first. 

He gave her a bashful grin. “Gonta will leave you to your preparations. A gentleman needs to complete his homework, after all.”

“Nyeh, that makes total sense.”

Himiko sent back a lazy grin of her own, one that made Gonta’s eyes light up with mirth. She mustered enough energy to wave him goodbye as he backed up.

Before turning to go to the exit, Gonta’s shy smile turned knowing.

“Yumeno-san,” he said, “there's no doubt you’ll make everyone in your audience smile.”

To wrap her entire being with warmth even after the embrace was broken… how had Gonta achieved such high-level magick? 

Even so, Himiko couldn’t find it in herself to be jealous. Not if that warmth brought out the most genuine display of emotion she’s shown since the start of the school year.

Not if that warmth caused Gonta’s eyes to gleam with joy at the sight of her responding beam.

And if that feeling stayed with her up to the moment she drew up from a bow and faced a spellbound applause - she'd only be glad that they were both able to evoke happiness in others.

**Author's Note:**

> https://i.imgur.com/ogKsnqD.png
> 
> Wow, I finally finished the first of my DRV3 Fluff-only series and it's only taken me 6 months to get off my ass! :)
> 
> Yumeno and Gonta are both canonically the type to love seeing others smile (the first does magic and never wants to let on that they aren't real magic because it ruins the immersion of her audience while the second wants to be helpful no matter what) and because of that they would both appreciate each other. It's surprising that there aren't many friendship fics between these two. ;n;


End file.
